NCP rolls out red carpet as Anil Deshmukh walks out of prison

Mumbai: Former Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh was released on bail from Mumbai's Arthur Road Jail thirteen months after he was arrested. The Nationalist Congress Party, which went all out to roll out the red carpet and turn the occasion into a show of strength, is trying to portray the Deshmukh case as a victory in its fight against the BJP.

On Wednesday, NCP's brass -- Rajya Sabha MP Praful Patel, Lok Sabha MP Supriya Sule, state NCP chief Jayant Patil, NCP leader Ajit Pawar and other leaders -- were present outside the jail to welcome Deshmukh when he came out of jail. By getting all its senior leaders to welcome Deshmukh, the NCP has tried to show that the party would back its leaders if they land in trouble.

In what has raised many eyebrows, Ajit Pawar, Chhagan Bhujbal and Dilip Walse Patil, who were attending the Maharashtra assembly session in Nagpur, flew to Mumbai in a state government aircraft. Ajit Pawar told reporters that there was nothing wrong in him using the government aircraft as he was the opposition leader and he enjoyed the status of a cabinet minister and was eligible to use the aircraft.


Deshmukh was welcomed with garlands and sweets by NCP workers who carried him on their shoulders to his SUV. "False cases were foisted against me, there was no evidence against me. The former Mumbai Police Commissioner Parambir Singh who levelled the allegation gave an affidavit before the Justice (retd) KU Chandiwal Commission that his claim was based on hearsay and that there was no evidence to back his claim," Deshmukh told the media after he came out of jail.